Category: Australia

If most of the facilities like houses, places of worship, library, bar, and hotels are available underground as in the city. People still living in an underground city built a hundred years ago in Australia. Coober Pedy, an underground city about 850 km south of Australia, has been described as the opal capital of the world. The place is named because of the opal mining. We have heard of many underground cities. But it is a city that people have used to live underground for after centuries. The underground city has not only houses but also providing rented accommodation by ... Read more

The Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Dan Tehan MP has today announced the launch of Tourism Australia’s latest domestic marketing campaign Event Here This Year to support the recovery of Australia’s business events industry. First launched in the wake of the 2019/20 summer bushfires, the dedicated Event Here This Year recovery campaign seeks to drive increased demand across the sector by promoting the value of face-to-face events and showcasing the breadth and quality of Australia’s business events offering. The new campaign, which is being delivered as part of a broader domestic strategy to aid the industry’s recovery following the ongoing impact ... Read more

Australia has been recognized in global travel authority Lonely Planet’s much-loved annual Best In Travel Awards announced today, receiving the ‘Community Restoration’ award. Reflecting the ways in which the world and attitudes to travel have been changed, Lonely Planet has created new award categories for 2021, including ‘Community’, ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Diversity’, to recognize not just the places but also the people and communities that are transforming the industry. Australia secured the ‘Community Restoration’ award in recognition of its recovery efforts at both a local and national level to rebuild communities and preserve Australia’s unique wildlife following the 2019/20 summer bushfires. ... Read more

Australians are being encouraged to give the gift of travel this festive season with a new campaign aimed at inspiring travellers to help give back to operators and communities across the country during what is typically their busiest period by booking a tourism experience. With domestic travel restrictions continuing to ease, the latest marketing push from Tourism Australia urges those who have the means to, to take the opportunity to reconnect with loved ones while enjoying one of the many experiences on offer across Australia, from a city staycation to a winery tour, a surf lesson or a wellness retreat. ... Read more

Australian fire crews are battling massive bushfires on Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, which has been burning for six weeks, forcing tourists to flee the island off the northeast coast. The fires have razed more than 76,000 hectares (187,800 acres), nearly half of the island, which is world heritage listed for its tropical rain forests and sand dunes. Several guests were ferried off the island, also known by its indigenous name K’gari, on Tuesday as weather conditions worsened. More than 1 million liters of water and fire-retardant gel have been dropped on the fires since Saturday, the Queensland ... Read more

It’s believed billions of dollars are currently tied up in unused holiday credits and yet-to-be issued refunds, and customers are not happy. The issue has become so heated the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been forced to develop a series of guidelines for travel agents dealing with coronavirus-related cancellations after record numbers of complaints from holidaymakers. In the six months to the end of June this year, the ACCC received a total of 14,768 complaints related to cancelled travel, a more than five-fold increase on the same time last year, ABC News has reported. Most of the work ... Read more

Air New Zealand has partnered with Tourism New Zealand on a campaign launched this year to get Kiwis holidaying around the country while foreign tourists aren’t allowed. The winter phase of the ‘Do something new, New Zealand’ campaign launched on Monday and hopes to boost the number of people hitting the slopes at Aotearoa’s ski fields. Holiday destinations Taupo, Christchurch and Queenstown will be promoted through social media, digital display advertising and online during the campaign. Bjoern Spreitzer of Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) says working with Air NZ is “vital to continue positive momentum”. As well as increasing domestic capacity ... Read more

New Zealanders got out in force around the country during the school holidays, with some areas enjoying a boost of more than 50% in domestic tourist numbers compared to last year, according to a report by New Zealand Herald. New data shows the number of New Zealanders outside of their home region peaked at 550,000 on July 11 – the highest since March. Kaikoura had a 56% boost in numbers and the West Coast 51% as the South Island benefited most from increased travel by Kiwis, who are now largely confined to this country for holidays as a result of ... Read more

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has welcomed the news that payments under the government’s JobKeeper scheme will be extended for millions of stood-down workers, a report by CMW says. The government has extended the scheme beyond September for an additional six months at a new rate of A$1,200 (US$846.87) a fortnight. The wage subsidy had been A$1,500 a fortnight. AFTA CEO Darren Rudd said the decision was a victory for the travel and tourism industry which had lobbied the government for the six-month extension. “Covid-19 hit travel and tourism operators will continue to feel the impact, so ongoing support is ... Read more

While tourism businesses have called for more government help, Tourism New Zealand is counting on Kiwis spending more on their domestic travels to help the sector recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. New research commissioned by the tourism board found that cost was one of a number of potential barriers to travel, with more than a quarter (28%) of survey respondents saying they believe holidays in New Zealand are too expensive and lack value for money, according to a report by Stuff. “When people travel overseas they tend to spend more because they try new things,” Tourism New Zealand general manager ... Read more

Fiji has announced a range of incentives in its annual budget of 2020-21 to promote tourism, including tax cuts, pricing reductions across the hospitality sector and a move to drop quarantine requirements for tourists from New Zealand. Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum while presenting the budget said several measures have been taken including tax reductions to stimulate the tourism sector, its biggest income earner. Hotel accommodation, food and beverages prices have been reduced, and the first 150,000 visitors to its shores will get $400 each towards packages including flights, accommodation and food and beverages, according to a report by Stuff. Sayed-Khaiyum said market surveys had ... Read more

The United States territory of Guam has announced its plan to allow short-term travellers from Taiwan to enter the island free of quarantine beginning July 24, according to Taiwan News. In Guam, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is waning and its pandemic restrictions are easing as business gets back to normal. The tourism reliant island is set to initially relax the social gathering rule, reopen schools and businesses on July 20, followed by border relaxation on July 24. Those who plan to visit Guam for five days or less and are from listed “low-risk” countries will be exempt from quarantine as ... Read more

The Vanuatu government had promised its biggest stimulus package ever to try to soften the coronavirus blow, and at 4.2 billion vatu ($52 million), it was considered to be one of the largest in the Pacific on a per capita basis. But people say they are yet to receive any of the relief payments promised for those who have lost work, the ABC has reported. Vanuatu is a South Pacific Ocean nation made up of about 80 islands that stretch 1,300 kilometres. With school holidays in Australia, Vanuatu’s picturesque beaches and turquoise waters would normally be busy with tourists at ... Read more

Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham is hoping that Australians would be able to travel to New Zealand again by September if the coronavirus flare-up in Victoria is brought under control, says a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. As Australia’s $60 billion-a-year tourism industry reels from the global pandemic, the governments from both countries have discussed plans for a travel bubble that would allow travel across the Tasman without mandatory quarantine. Simon Birmingham said on Friday that despite the flare-up of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, it was viable for quarantine-free travel between the two countries to reopen in September. “That’s a realistic ... Read more

Victorian regional accommodation operators affected by lockdowns in metropolitan Melbourne will be eligible for Government support if losses can be shown. A $5 million fund has been made available to regional businesses including motels, caravan parks and short-term rentals like Airbnb properties that can demonstrate losses due to the new restrictions implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Melbourne. Payments of up to $225 per cancelled booked night will be paid, on the condition that full refunds are provided to Melburnians stuck in lockdown and no cancellation fees are levied, Business News Australia has reported. “We know that the ... Read more